Courage is not the abscense of fear
by TeamEdwardMasen
Summary: Lily's last thoughts as she confronts Voldemort and gives her life to save her son.


Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. ~Ambrose Redmoon

They said that the eyes are the window to the soul.

As Lily stared into the red eyes of the dark lord she was convinced that there was some truth to it. His eyes were as cold as ice and without the slightest trace of emotion.

Even as he stood inside her home ready to kill her son, there was not even a trace of compassion in those eyes. Not a sliver of regret, not the tiniest ounce of apprehension of the crime he was about to commit.

As Lily stared into the pools of red she noticed that his eyes almost seemed empty. As if whatever had once been hiding behind those windows had been wiped away, ripped out of him, leaving behind a pool of blood in his eyes.

Whatever happiness or love he might have experienced as a young child was gone, leaving the coldhearted demon that was towering above her. Because that was what he was.

A demon.

The humanity that he had been born with was lost. He was an orb of hatred trapped inside the shell of his human body. She had never been so scared before in her entire life.

Because as she looked into his soulless eyes she knew that her life was forfeit. There was no way that she could convince this soulless monster to spare her life.

He wouldn't spare Harry's life either.

Harry.

She didn't want to die. She was too young, only twenty years old. She hadn't even gotten a real job yet. She had so many things to do. So much that she had to research. It wasn't her time, she wasn't ready.

She was terrified to the point that she could barely speak. Only seconds had passed since he barged in the door, only seconds since she realized that her husband was dead and that she would never see him again.

James was _dead_.

She wasn't even able to cry about the loss of her husband, the only thing she could focus on was the scarlet eyes that were looking at her.

"Step aside girl, step aside _now."_ His voice was like ice, chilling her to the bone. He wanted her to step aside. He wanted her to step aside so that he could kill her son. He wanted to _kill_ Harry. He was _going _to kill Harry.

She needed to be strong, strong for her son. She was afraid, because she was terrified of dying, and of losing her life. But Harry's life was much more important than hers. And Harry's life was much more important than her life.

Thus, she stood her ground against the demon that was so cruel and so evil that people screamed in terror at the sound of his name.

She didn't give an inch. She would be damned before she let that monster have her son.

"Step aside, you silly girl." He said, he was angrier this time. Lily looked at him coldly.

"Never." She spat through gritted teeth.

"This is your last chance. Step. Aside." In that moment her intuition told her that he was honestly offering her a way out. He would let her live if she stepped away from the crib. He would actually let her walk away. She couldn't even begin to fathom why. At that moment she didn't care for his reasoning either. All she knew was that she wouldn't do it. Never in a hundred life times would she let him kill her son as she stood by without doing anything to prevent it from happening. He pointed his wand at the child behind her.

"No, not Harry!" she screamed.

"Avada Kedavra." The words were spoken in a whisper. They echoed through the room and slammed against the walls. Lily watched as the curse formed at the tip of his wand, turning into a bright beam of green light. She watched as the curse speed towards the crib.

Harry had crawled to the other side to get a better view of the man with red eyes, and to Lily's horror she was no longer covering him. With a courage she never in a million years would have thought existed inside her, she leapt towards the curse and took the blow that was intended for her son. It struck her right in the heart. The green light engulfed her, swallowed her whole.

She crumpled to the floor in a heap. Her green eyes were open, staring at nothing. There was no emotion left in those eyes. The sparkle of life was gone.

The eyes were the windows to the souls they said.

Voldemort peered down at the stubborn woman. Her eyes were empty.

Her soul was gone.


End file.
